London studio-based Principal Julian Cross recently attended the World Architecture Festival in Amsterdam and presented The Isle of Arran Marine Discovery Centre in West Scotland for the Future Project Education category. The theme of this year’s festival is “Flow: People, Data, Nature, Power,” exploring how built sites are designed to respond to various states of function for not just the everyday users but the natural environment it is constructed on. While at the festival, he also took the time to talk to online communications service BowerBird about the brief and context while designing the project.

Commissioned by the Community of Arran Seabed Trust, this project champions community marine conservation and sustainable fishing in one of the first Scottish Marine Protected Areas. The two-story building will create a striking focal point in the Bay and a direct link to the coast and marine activities. The tiered structure conforms to the landscape, ascending from the ground floor up to the central timber-clad pavilion and a rooftop viewing deck. The materials were inspired by the surrounding natural environment and driftwood found on the coast and its form echoed historic, pre-Christian sites. Floor-to-ceiling glazing will offer the educational and research spaces, as well as the café and activity areas, and panoramic views across the water.

To learn more about the project brief and constraints Cross responded to when addressing this project, be sure to watch the interview below.